NEW ORLEANS -- A Cavaliers rookie moved into the starting lineup on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, but it was not No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett.

While Matthew Dellavedova, the Australian native and undrafted rookie from St. Mary's, made his first start at shooting guard in place of injured C.J. Miles (strained right calf), Bennett continues to struggle. He has played 110 minutes in 10 games and is averaging 1.3 points and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting 13.5 percent overall (5 of 37) and 7.7 percent (1 of 13) from 3-point range.

"I’m just thinking too much,'' Bennett said after Friday's shootaround at the New Orleans Arena. "That’s what it is right now. I try not to mess up. There’s a lot of plays, a lot of things thrown at me. It’s not the same as college. One mistake is kind of crucial.''

Asked why he's overthinking, Bennett said, "I really don’t know. If I had an idea, I’d change it. I just have no idea.''

Coach Mike Brown said earlier this week that Bennett had two of his best practices on Monday and Tuesday.

"There's progress made every day,'' said Brown, noting that, like most rookies, Bennett can take one step forward and then two back. "Only time will tell. The good part about right now is we're not pressed to play him, so he can develop slowly. It's like the quarterbacks you take in the NFL. If you throw them out there too soon, sometimes it may not work. The more patience you can have with younger players the better it is for you and for your team. So for us we want to have patience with him.''

Bennett, who was booed at home for shooting an air ball while the Cavs were trying to rally against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at The Q, seems to appreciate the team's patience and says he's keeping his head up. Power forwards and centers typically take longer to develop and adjust to the NBA than guards or wing players.

"I have great teammates, a great coaching staff,'' he said. "There’s no point hanging my head. I just have to get better.''

Jack is back: Jarrett Jack spent two seasons in New Orleans, 2010-11 and 2011-12, replacing Chris Paul as the starting point guard after Paul was traded to the Clippers before the 2011-12 season. Though he was starting instead of coming off the bench, Jack was in a similar leadership role here as he is in Cleveland.

"We had a very, very young team,'' Jack said before Friday's game. "They were learning on the fly, not much experience. But, through it all, I was able to make a positive out of it, trying to lead those young guys. We had some rough times but it was still fun.

"These people showed a tremendous amount of confidence in me. Having somebody like Chris, who was the cornerstone of the franchise, leave, they could have opted to trade for a higher profile point guard, but they showed confidence in me to be able to come in and fill that void. I'm forever grateful for that.''

Brown said Jack is filling a similar leadership role with the Cavs and is acting as a role model for Kyrie Irving, too.

"He's helped lead,'' Brown said of Jack. "He's also trying to help Kyrie continue to develop into a leader, too. Kyrie's a young guy. He should be a junior in college right now. So there's a lot of experiences that he has not had especially in a winning environment here that Jarrett Jack can help him with. He's done a great job not only with Kyrie but with everybody else trying to lead the team.''

Cavs at San Antonio

Time: 8:30 p.m. Saturday at AT&T Center.

TV/radio: Fox Sports Ohio, WTAM AM/1100.

Notable: First meeting of the teams this season. … Both teams will be playing second night of back-to-back. Cavs were at New Orleans on Friday night, Spurs were at Memphis. … Cavs have lost seven straight to Spurs and four straight at San Antonio. … Going into Friday's games, Spurs had the best record in the Western Conference (10-1) and were tied with Indiana for best record in the league. It ties the Spurs best start in franchise history.

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